CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidkotlindesign-patternssingleton
Ymi
Ymi

Reputation: 768

How to convert Android class to Singleton object (Kotlin)

Currently, I have a database manager class that handles all operations to the database like this:

class DatabaseManager(val context: Context) {
    private val db = Firebase.firestore
    //Other functions, etc.
}

It makes use of the context passed in by different activities to perform functions to the database. The thing is, every single activity that requires database functions have to instantiate this manager class first, then call the functions. I would like to make use of the Singelton design pattern to make it such that all the activities will only use a single instance of the class. I believe kotlin's objects can do this, however I also need to be able to pass in the context of the activities into this manager class. Any assistance is appreciated, thank you!

Upvotes: 0

Views: 264

Answers (1)

Gabe Sechan
Gabe Sechan

Reputation: 93542

I would recommend not doing that. The problem with Singletons is that they make code hard to test, you can't fake out the database. And for a database this is a particularly bad problem, as setting up all the right fake data can be painful. Instead, take a look at injection. It can do the same thing (make a single instance shared between everyone who needs it), but it manages that global state rather than having the classes themselves manage it via a static reference, passing it in (generally via the constructor) to whoever needs it. This makes it easy to provide an alternative or mock database when needed for testing. Injection used to be a bit painful to set up, but Hilt makes it a lot easier these days.

Upvotes: 1

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